DLA taps outside storage advice

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Besides its agreement to work with 3PARdata Inc. in the federal sector, officials at Storage Area Networks (Sanz) Inc. also recently announced a new storage assessment service called StorTrust.

The service is designed to help agencies and companies make decisions about storage management strategies, specifically addressing the efficiency of their existing storage resources.

The Defense Logistics Agency has hired Sanz to evaluate its storage infrastructure and management procedures. Like other large organizations, the agency is experiencing explosive data growth, so officials are seeking advice on adding new storage capacity while maintaining administrative staff levels, said Albert Williams, an information technology specialist in DLA's technical infrastructure support group.

"We need to be able to automate as much as possible so that we can manage the storage with fewer people," he said. DLA officials selected Sanz because the firm is "knowledgeable in current industry trends and best practices" and, unlike some consulting firms, will be available to help implement any new products and procedures needed, Williams said.

The price for a Sanz StorTrust assessment is based on the number of servers and physical locations that are included in the study and typically ranges from $50,000 to $300,000, according to company officials.